Spurs tie last thing we needed - Wenger

Arsene Wenger has taken a sarcastic swipe at the fixture schedulers after his side were handed a mouth-watering home tie against north London rivals Tottenham in the third round of the FA Cup.

Speaking after his side's 1-1 draw with Everton at the Emirates, Wenger was asked his thoughts on the FA Cup draw which had taken place during the match.

"Tottenham I've heard. We didn't have enough tough matches coming up, so they gave us another one," joked Wenger.

Arsenal's trophy ambitions face a tough examination in the coming weeks, with Napoli first up in the Champions League on Wednesday. Regardless of results elsewhere, they must avoid a 3-0 defeat to progress to the knockout stages.

They then visit the Etihad Stadium on December 14 to face third-placed Manchester City. Manuel Pellegrini's side have a formidable home record, having scored 44 goals there over 11 matches in all competitions - an average of four goals per game - and winning all seven of their league games on their own patch.

Next up are Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium on December 23, before trips to West Ham and high-flying Newcastle in the next six days. Wenger's side then welcome Cardiff on New Year's Day, before the clash with Tottenham on January 4.